Top 5 Challenges Faced By Startups Today
Being a startup means having to face challenges that might not be prepared to face. With millions of startups looking to be the next unicorns that change the market. Here are the top challenges which we feel that a startup faces:
- Gathering Your Team
Companies, even the well-established ones, need a well-organized staff with people from different backgrounds and perspectives but having the same goals. Being in a team, everyone should take advantage of their individualities and talent to work towards that common goal.
Startups look for people who can work without guidance and multiple tasks. Rather than age being an issue, people who can work for a little less amount of money are preferred.
This turns out to be a hindrance since it is difficult to find people who are willing to take a pay cut. People like to be rewarded for their long hours of hard work and not like to risk their straightforward career trajectory.
But If a startup is able to assemble a team that can work in perfect unity, then that can be the very first step in building that budding work culture which most startups strive for when they start.
- Financial Know About
Every entrepreneur should know the ins and outs of their startup. That includes how much profit and loss the company is going through. Startups, usually have it tough and there could be instances when an entrepreneur may need to cut down on a few expenses.
Ask any successful entrepreneur, and they would tell you the importance of having apt knowledge about finances. Entrepreneurs, who do on top of their financial situation can plan ahead how to grow their startup.
This also helps startups much later during business deals, when the business might have grown.
- How to Deal with Competition?
Some startups start with a fresh perspective and tend to not compare themselves with the competition. Some think big and compare themselves to big, established companies from the beginning.
This thinking might help some, but it could be dangerous for others. As only a few excel when the task is mammoth, but others falter as it can be intimidating for new, inexperienced faces.
Worrying about the competition can be distracting and can make the startups lose focus from the main goal. Being a startup has its own troubles, and it would behoove them to worry about themselves alone.
- People Skills
Be it within your own company or outside it, most entrepreneurs should be able to handle different personalities around them.
Externally, entrepreneurs rely on working with other firms and investors, in order to expand their business. The need for people skills become necessary so they can talk, influence and work the dealings in their favor.
Internally, they have their employees and co-founders, among others, working within a startup. As it is with any group of people with differing perspectives, there are bound to be disagreements. But good entrepreneurs know that solutions can be found. More importantly, there is a need for honesty among everyone so that the startup could grow and flourish.
Good entrepreneurs reward good employees, but they shouldn’t be afraid to punish the bad ones either. This helps keep balance in the work environment which is necessary for the proper functioning of a startup.
- Lack of Identity
Being a startup, a lot of ideas go through the mind of an entrepreneur. As there are a lot of people around who have different ideas as to how the business should expand. Just like any business, who are in need of a little cash flow, there is a need for investors. These investors, once in the mix, feel like they can have a say about how the startup should be run.
In some cases, startups agree to what investors suggest, as they seek to please the people who are helping the company stay afloat.
But if a startup can give time to their own vision and execute it as they want. Then they could become successful in showcasing their own identity.
